7/26/2017

We probably won't be getting another Lord of the Rings movie for a while, if ever. Kinda hard to top what Peter Jackson gave us across six films. So the only thing left to do is to make a movie about its author, J.R.R. Tolkien, who lived quite an exciting life before venturing off to Middle Earth. And the man who might be playing him is Nicholas Hoult, who has plenty of experience playing revered authors of classic books.

Hoult is in early talks to star in Tolkien, which will tell of the author's formative years pre-WWI. The film will be directed by Dome Karukoski from a script co-written by David Gleeson and Stephen Beresford. In what sounds like a setup for The Fellowship of the Ring, the orphaned Tolkien would eventually seek“friendship, love, and artistic inspiration” among a “fellow group of outcasts.” Their names were Samwise, Pippin, and Merry. I made that last part up but you never know.

Hoult will be seen later this year as The Catcher in the Rye author, J.D. Salinger, in Rebel in the Rye, which tells of the writer's time pre-WWII. Both Tolkien and Salinger would go on to inspire the imaginations of millions with their work. No pressure. And presumably this means the other Tolkien film, titled Middle Earth and which would have charted the same territory, is off the table?